The global COVID-19 pandemic has challenged us in many areas of our lives as we adapt to remote-working arrangements and to fewer in-person learning opportunities for our children. In response, many parents across the country during this time are opting to home-school their children, so they do not fall behind with online-schooling.
One of the concerns I often hear from my constituents in the 4th District of Colorado is that home educators face many financial hurdles as they set up their home-school programs. This concern is not new, of course, but it is one more widely felt this year with so many more families exploring the benefits of home-schooling.
My colleague in the House of Representatives, Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican, has introduced a new bill that I am pleased to cosponsor, the Home Educators are Teachers Act. The bill changes the IRS’s definition of an “eligible educator” to include parents who home-school their children, thus making them eligible to claim the $250 school supplies tax deduction. Under the current definition, only traditional classroom teachers may take advantage of this tax deduction, excluding the nation’s many home educators.
This tax deduction is one way we can recognize that home educators are doing vital work educating their children and helping offset some of the school supply expenses they incur.
This legislation directly meets a specific need of many homeschooling families, not only in this pandemic but also in the long-term. Because of its targeted approach to empowering families to make choices that benefit their children’s education, the bill has earned the support of many national organizations, including the Family Research Council, FreedomWorks, and the National Taxpayers Union.
I have long been a strong advocate for school choice, including home-schooling, and for equipping families to be more involved in their children’s education. Parents, after all, are in the best position to gauge the education needs of their own children. This bill removes one obstacle parents may encounter as they explore home-schooling, and it appropriately treats home educators as teachers.
This year has posed so many difficulties for people, but paying for school supplies for our home-educated children should not be one of those challenges. And, with this bill, it won’t be.
Ken Buck represents Colorado’s 4th Congressional District. He is the author of the newly released book, “Capitol of Freedom: Restoring American Greatness.”
